SKU: CA.7070100

ISBN 9790007252267. German/English. Text: Meyer, Conrad Ferdinand.

Friede auf Erden op. 13 is regarded as Arnold Schoenberg's last tonal composition and is one of the few choral works of the Second Viennese School. On the same day that he completed his op. 13, Schoenberg made the first sketches for his 2nd String Quartet, a key work in atonal music. Although Schoenberg later orchestrated Friede auf Erden, he intended the piece to be performed unaccompanied.To help rehearsing the work, this choral score contains the piano transcription made by Anton Webern for use in rehearsals for the planned first performance. The text for op. 13 is a secular Christmas poem by Conrad Ferdinand Meyer. At the time of its composition (1907), Schoenberg thought the vision of a reine Harmonie unter Menschen (pure harmony amongst people) described in the poem was conceivable, but he later distanced himself from this idea. What remained is a composition of great artistic power and depth - a real showpiece for ambitious choirs!

SKU: CA.739600

ISBN M-007-25264-9. Language: English.

The motet Bless the Lord, O My Soul (2013) on verses from Psalm 103 exploits the possibilities of vocal combinations and the resulting sound effects to a high degree: In the opening invocation O my soul, the soprano 1 ascends to float above the fanned out low chord of the other voices; and beginning from For as the heavens are high above the earth, an eight-part fugato masses together into an extensive architecture of sound. The harmony of the work is tonal, but many enriched chords create a tension rich in nuances in the setting. The work has been released on the CD Rejoice. Vocal Music by Kay Johannsen (Carus 83.496/00).